Hi All,
I was diagnosed in 2011 with lymphocytic colitis. Luckily my symptoms have been pretty easy to manage with hormone therapy. However, on Thursday around noon I realized that I couldn't bend my left knee and it felt heavy. Saturday and Sunday I was able to move it more, but it still hurt and my back hurt as well. Fast forward to Monday night, my whole body felt achey, but it felt as though all my joints on the left side of my body hurt.
I went to my primary care doctor Monday morning and he said there was nothing wrong. He wouldn't even give me an x-ray which i thought was odd. Then he told me to take ibuprofen despite having colitis. (I'm sure you guys are making faces at this point, we all know to avoid NSAIDs.) My PCP also said if I had arthritis that I would have red, swollen joints and since I didn't have that, he wasn't concerned.
So my question is for those that have arthritis along with colitis, what are your symptoms? Do you *HAVE* to have swollen, red joints to be considered to have arthritis?
(Coincidentally, the joints in my left hand were red and warm to touch that night after seeing my doctor.)
I feel so awful, everything hurts. :(
Colitis & Arthritis
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
I can't really answer your question, but I do have a question. What are you eating? Have you eliminated gluten and other food sensitivities from your diet? I ask because I have arthritis (milder form) and when I cut out gluten, all my symptoms disappeared and I have no aches or pains anymore.
Jari
Diagnosed with Collagenous Colitis, June 29th, 2015
Gluten free, Dairy free, and Soy free since July 3rd, 2015
Diagnosed with Collagenous Colitis, June 29th, 2015
Gluten free, Dairy free, and Soy free since July 3rd, 2015
When I was first diagnosed I was very sensitive to gluten. Nausea/vomiting etc. After I started meds (mesalamine and budesonide) and got everything under control, I've added gluten back into my diet.
I was also thinking that I may need to eliminate gluten again.... ugh it's sooo expensive and depressing to do! :(
I was also thinking that I may need to eliminate gluten again.... ugh it's sooo expensive and depressing to do! :(
Hi Steph,
Before I got MC I would get joint pain after eating a plate of wheat based spaghetti. My joint pain went away after I got MC and went GF. It took maybe 8-10 weeks for the joint pain to totally go away.
Also, I think I had joint pain as a side effect while on budesonide.
I feel sad for my friends who all have arthritis.
Brandy
Before I got MC I would get joint pain after eating a plate of wheat based spaghetti. My joint pain went away after I got MC and went GF. It took maybe 8-10 weeks for the joint pain to totally go away.
Also, I think I had joint pain as a side effect while on budesonide.
I feel sad for my friends who all have arthritis.
Brandy
Stephred,
I have arthritis and LC. Since stopping gluten, I have less pain than when I took Celebrex (NSAID) prior to my LC diagnosis. Gluten is inflammatory, thus eating it will continue to aggravate the arthritis, in my experience. A friend who has RA also stopped gluten and had great relief.
Regular exercise and movement really helps. You have to keep moving. Also, my arthritic knees have greatly improved by doing weight-bearing exercise, yoga etc.
I was extremely unhappy about going GF at the outset. But once I did, I started feeling so much better that I was able to mentally put gluten behind me.
You don't have to spend a lot of money on GF products. I only buy GF bread, bread crumbs and panko, snacks like crackers or pretzels, occasional baking mixes, and flour, frozen waffles or a GF pizza once in a while. Otherwise, I eat mostly good, healthy, unprocessed food from the perimeter of the supermarket. I eat "regular" cereals that happen to be gluten free, like Rice Chex.
Give it a longer term try and see how you feel.
I have arthritis and LC. Since stopping gluten, I have less pain than when I took Celebrex (NSAID) prior to my LC diagnosis. Gluten is inflammatory, thus eating it will continue to aggravate the arthritis, in my experience. A friend who has RA also stopped gluten and had great relief.
Regular exercise and movement really helps. You have to keep moving. Also, my arthritic knees have greatly improved by doing weight-bearing exercise, yoga etc.
I was extremely unhappy about going GF at the outset. But once I did, I started feeling so much better that I was able to mentally put gluten behind me.
You don't have to spend a lot of money on GF products. I only buy GF bread, bread crumbs and panko, snacks like crackers or pretzels, occasional baking mixes, and flour, frozen waffles or a GF pizza once in a while. Otherwise, I eat mostly good, healthy, unprocessed food from the perimeter of the supermarket. I eat "regular" cereals that happen to be gluten free, like Rice Chex.
Give it a longer term try and see how you feel.
Suze
Stephred,
I have LC and psoriatic arthritis. (And I do not have redness or swelling with my usual joint pain, either, so that's not the final criteria for a diagnosis.) I've been on the GF/DF diet for LC for just ten days, and the improvement in my finger and elbow joints is the most noticeable benefit to date -- remarkable change in pain and stiffness in such a short time. I would def. give GF a try.
Hope you're feeling better soon.
I have LC and psoriatic arthritis. (And I do not have redness or swelling with my usual joint pain, either, so that's not the final criteria for a diagnosis.) I've been on the GF/DF diet for LC for just ten days, and the improvement in my finger and elbow joints is the most noticeable benefit to date -- remarkable change in pain and stiffness in such a short time. I would def. give GF a try.
Hope you're feeling better soon.
Lymphocytic Colitis - 2015
Collagenous Colitis - 2011
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease - 2012
Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis - 2012
Hashimoto's Disease - 2003
Non-Specific Colitis - 2004
Collagenous Colitis - 2011
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease - 2012
Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis - 2012
Hashimoto's Disease - 2003
Non-Specific Colitis - 2004
Hi Stephred,
Welcome to the discussion board. I agree with what everyone else has said. When my symptoms first began (over 15 years ago) I had arthritis in my knees so bad that I could barely get around some days with a cane. My knees were not red, nor were they swollen. Then the joints of some of the fingers of my right hand began to develop arthritis. Unlike my knees, those joints were swollen, and red. When I changed my diet, all of that went away.
Arthritis is very common with IBDs, and whether or not the joints swell or become red is irrelevant, it's still arthritis, and it's still painful. Obviously your doctor is not very familiar with this disease.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the discussion board. I agree with what everyone else has said. When my symptoms first began (over 15 years ago) I had arthritis in my knees so bad that I could barely get around some days with a cane. My knees were not red, nor were they swollen. Then the joints of some of the fingers of my right hand began to develop arthritis. Unlike my knees, those joints were swollen, and red. When I changed my diet, all of that went away.
Arthritis is very common with IBDs, and whether or not the joints swell or become red is irrelevant, it's still arthritis, and it's still painful. Obviously your doctor is not very familiar with this disease.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thank you all for your replies! I will definitely go gluten free again! (getting started is always the hard part!) And will try yoga and exercising.
So two more questions:
1. those of you that said you have a form of arthritis, did you get x-rays done? (My doctor didn't order any- I think I at least want to know what's going on in there!)
2. Do you notice any nerve pain/sciatica with this? I'm fairly comfortable now compared to a few days ago, now it's just mainly the nerve pain that I can feel. lower back and left thigh. :(
Thank you for all the love & support, you guys are great! :)
So two more questions:
1. those of you that said you have a form of arthritis, did you get x-rays done? (My doctor didn't order any- I think I at least want to know what's going on in there!)
2. Do you notice any nerve pain/sciatica with this? I'm fairly comfortable now compared to a few days ago, now it's just mainly the nerve pain that I can feel. lower back and left thigh. :(
Thank you for all the love & support, you guys are great! :)
